My Strengths-Visualized with Wordle

The awesome thing about Wordle is that you are able to take a list of words and paste them into the creation box and come up with something like this.

I took the descriptions of my five strengths from Strengthsfinder and it came up with this visualization.

What stands out? People, Ideas, Theme, Time, Strong.

The larger the word, the more often it appeared in your list. It's a great way to visualize things and see how often you use words or phrases, since these are usually the greatest point of communication. Below is the one I did from the teaching yesterday in worship.

Something Old, Something New

Something Old

Seth's Blog-- Seth Godin writes some of the most interesting articles on marketing and organization. He always gives an insight to what is working and what is not. If you aren't reading his blog daily--you should be.

Something New:

Wordle- You have to try this site. I

was alerted through a blog this week of this great new site. I've done it for my family and for my production this week. This one below is from our Director, Craig Robertson (there ya go Craig, another Google keyword) who did one for the production himself. I'm doing one on each of the sermons in this series and will do a set up toward the end for people to walk through (gallery like) and relive those teaching moments. Go ahead--try it!

Worship Post-fessional, June 29, 2008

Today's Set

All Hail The Power of Jesus Name (G3 Arrangement)

Hosanna  (Baloche)

Welcome and slide show--"LOOK LIKE A FOOL"

You Are (Roach)

Mighty To Save (Hillsong)

Scripture Reading

You Never Let Go (Redman)

                                                    Message--Fools (Part 1)

                                                    I Fix My Eyes On You (Walker)

Today was a longggggggggg day.  Two services, followed by an afternoon matinee of the production that I was in followed by an evening Community worship gathering at our place in honor of the Fourth of July.  Needless to say, I've been a little tired since arriving home late this evening.

Of the songs we sang today, I would have to say that YOU ARE and YOU NEVER LET GO stood out to me as "Moments" in worship.  Both are new to us.  I sang YOU ARE about a month ago to end our last worship series--we brought it back this time for people to learn.  YOU NEVER LET GO was one of our worship songs for Vacation Bible school and I could look out there and see the kids and the leaders doing the motions to the songs.

How was your day? As long as mine?  What were the moments?

                        

HYMNS REMIXED--OLD WORDS, NEW TUNE

ONE DAY
by J Wilbur Chapman
& Charles H Marsh

Verse 1
One day when heaven was filled with His praises,
One day when sin was as black as could be,
Jesus came forth to be born of a virgin,
Dwelt among men; my example is He!

Chorus:
Living, He loved me; dying, He saved me;
Buried, He carried my sings far away;
Rising, He justified freely forever;
One day He's coming, O glorious day!

Verse 2
One day they led Him up Calvary's mountain,
One day they nailed Him to die on the tree,
Suffering anguish, despised and rejected,
Bearing our sins; my Redeemer is He!

Chorus:

Verse 3
One day they left Him alone in the garden,
One day He rested, from suffering free;
Angels came down o'er His tomb to keep vigil;
Hope of the hopeless, my Savior is He!

Chorus:

Verse 4
One day the grave could conceal Him no longer,
One day the stone rolled away from the door;
Then He arose, over death He had conquered;
Now is ascended, my Lord evermore!

Chorus:

Verse 5
One day the trumpet will sound for His coming,
One day the skies with His glory will shine;
Wonderful day, my beloved ones bringing;
Glorious Savior, this Jesus is mine!

My daughters love this song, the new one that is.  They came back from Super Summer two weeks ago and began telling me about this amazing song done by Jeff Johnson.  They were amazed at the lyrics and even more the tune.  I popped open the cd case and began to read the words as they played it for me.  I noticed that the words were the familiar text to ONE DAY by Chapman (old Baptist Hymnal tune to me).  I began to sing the old song and my girls shrieked "Dad, stop!  That's not the tune".  I began to tell them that this was an old hymn but with a new tune.

Little did they know that the church is returning to the practice of songs that are separate from the tunes.  That's they way we used to do church.  Texts were on one page and tunes on another.  The leader would call out the text and then a tune number.  Don't believe me?   Get ahold of a Scottish Psalter (the early hymnal of the church) and you'll see.  I have a copy of one in my office.

Long before tunes and texts were glued together, we interchanged texts and tunes pretty regularly--and seemed quiet comfortable that this or that tune didn't necessarily have to go with that text.

What new hymns are you hearing?  Time to dust off those old hymn books and rediscover some of those lyrics.  Most of them a still public domain and they are waiting for a new coat of paint for a new generation to enjoy--like ONE DAY--retitled GLORIOUS DAY.

So--enjoy this song.  Michael Bleeker from The Village Church in Flower Mound is responsible for this hymn.

The Reviews Are In! A COMPANY OF WAYWARD SAINTS

Uproariously funny... a must see   The Hermeligh Herald

The best show in town for $10.   Ira Inquirer

Laughed so much, my side hurts!   The Gail Gazetter

I'd see it again and again!   Roscoe Reporter

It all went well tonight.  We had some good laughers in the audience.  It's always fun to see where the audience will laugh and clap.  I think it will help our timing for the rest of the run since we've not done it live.  One down--three to go!

Creative Chaos-- Theatrical Thursday (Opening Night)

Below are some pictures from the production, A COMPANY OF WAYWARD SAINTS that opens tonight @ 7:00 PM.

This is my contribution to Creative Chaos--actually participating in the Chaos as a member of the cast.

Break a leg!

This post is part of Creative Chaos over on Ragamuffinsoul.com

Water Cooler Wednesday--Mine Would Be Pink!

This post was inspired by the news I received the other day that a friend from Seminary days had finally completed his Doctoral degree at the The Institute for Worship Studies.  I applaud him for his tenacity in keeping on even after seminary.  We've been out of seminary almost 17 years-so he's kept this as a burning passion since then.

I used to tell my wife I was going for my doctorate.  She told me "You can do that with your next wife!"  It's almost like giving birth (go easy on me ladies--I said almost). Once you forget the pain of the Master's--the next level is the Doctorate.  I thought about it for about 3 minutes.   There'll never be a Dr. Jim Drake (only if I buy one of those cheap ones in the back of a magazing--say the University of Interscholastic Paper Design or something like that.)

I guess I was fascinated with the regalia that the Doctors wear.  I earned my Master's stole at Southwestern, but it paled in comparison to the Doctors vestments.  Those bars and chevrons across the deep black gowns and that ever adorable tam were very enticing.

It seems that these vestments were once worn everyday in academic settings.  Can you imagine wearing a robe and stole to class everyday.  It was the academic gown which gave birth to the modern day choir robe---get the connection?   

So--to the title of my post.  Music in the Academic world is represented by the color... PINK.  Yes, can you get a more stereotypical color for musicians?   Why Pink?  Why not a majestic blue or green?  I get snickers and laughs every graduation season when this topic emerges. Ok--let's just state it--MUSIC is PINK.

You can check out all of the history and rules of using these garments on this site.  Also look at the color chart and comment back here what your color would be if you were a Dr. of something?  Go ahead, dream--what would it be?

This post is part of Water Cooler Wednesday over on Randy Elrod's site, Ethos.

Hand Mowers--We May Use You Again

You may laugh..but I can remember when I was a wee young lad--we had one of these.  We mowed the lawn with a hand mower.  It wasn't for long because the gas power lawn mower was just about to come on the scene (early 70's-at least more affordable ones).

I heard today on the radio that in Los Angeles sales and use of the hand powered lawn mower is up due to the gas crisis.  Keep your eyes peeled for one of these vintage pieces of technology.

Production Week--THE COMPANY OF WAYWARD SAINTS

This is production week for THE COMPANY OF WAYWARD SAINTS at The Ritz Community Theatre. I will be in rehearsals Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The performances are scheduled for Thurs, Friday and Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:00 PM.

My posts this week will be sporadic if not reposts of past thoughts and events. I hope to update you throughout the week on the production and it's success.

If you are in the Snyder area--join us. Tickets are $10 and are available for each performance.

Something Old, Something New

Time for new icon...

Something Old:

EyeBeam- This site is subtitled "distilling art and technology." I find that this site is constantly searching the edge out there where art and technology collide and make beautiful music together.

Something New:

A Day In The Life of The Paper Poppy- I'm not sure how I landed on this site, but I continue to marvel at the artistry of the cardmaker on this site.  Give this one to the scrapbooker in your life.

Airline Fees

I'm afraid that this video is a bit prophetic (posted in 2007). Comedy usually is that way--a little humor and a lot of truth. Enjoy!

Worship Post-fessional June 22, 2008

Worship Set Today

Responsive Reading--Psalms about Wisdom

I Will Boast ( Baloche)

Welcome

Prayer-Offering

Everlasting God (B. Brown)

Lord Reign In Me (B. Brown)

Fairest (New Life Worship arr. of hymn)  

Video Intro of Proverbs (Sermon Spice)

                                                     Message

                                                     Eagle's Wings

                                                     Blessing--closing chorus of  Draw Me Close

Ok--today was a challenge.    It's summer--people are out and that usually means having to shuffle things.  The vocal team was a mix of both teams--we're having to sub a lot this summer. That makes it challenging with folks who are used to others singing with them.  My drummer was out and so was sub #1 and sub#2--so that meant some type of artifical rhythm.  Thank good ness for Garage Band.   Had it all set and going in the first song and my in ears die (bad battery) and I can't hear anymore if we're with the track or not--so I have to kill it and go sans drums in the first song.  That was frustrating--but not unpredicted today.

Otherwise--it was okay.  This must have been the Sunday that everyone decided to do vacation.  I went into one of our normal busting young adult rooms--and there was 1 lady. The young couples across the hall had all gone on a trip together.  Needless to say--we were low in attendance today and may be for the next three weeks with 4th of July coming.

How was your Sunday?

To The Drummers In My Life

This one is dedicated to the drummers in my life...drum on!


HT: Timilu

A Church Goes Green...and Still There's Trouble

Cornerstone Community Church in Simi Valley, California (Francis Chan's Church) has an ambitious project on their hands.  They are building a new facility to house the enourmous growth they've experienced in the last few years.   Francis spoke about this last year at a conference that our staff attended.  The story behind this decision is remarkable.  Instead of building $50million dollars worth of buildings, they decided to invest in land and trust that the Lord would take care of the weather--specifically, they are planning on a site where 3000 people can worship together outdoors.

Francis said he worried about the weather and then he was reminded "Hey, who is in charge of the weather?"

However, the land they have chosen to build upon is "sacred" ground.  It is a greenbelt ( a designated green area between developments) that is meant to prevent urban sprawl.  You can read more about their dispute with the county here.

Evidently the plan to keep most of the acreage undeveloped still doesn't please the environmentalist and the anit-development folks.  It will be interesting to see who wins this battle.

Read more about it here: 

HT:  Timilu

         Church Relevance

When Pictures Aren't Photoshopped!

I thought this picture had to be Photsh'pd.  It looked too doctored to me.  Until I read this story, I didn't  believe that it was true--evidently it is.

In this day and age of computer generated images, you just never know what's real and what's not?

Do you carry a digital camera with you wherever you go?  Do you capture exciting photos like this?  Not me.

An Evening In the Park

We attended the Lubbock Moonlight Musicals last Saturday evening. It was the perfect evening for an outing and some theater.  The Moonlight Musicals are a new addition to the Lubbock Arts scene in the last couple of years.  It's performed in the Mackenzie State park and is house in the Wells Fargo Ampitheater.  What a great venue overlooking the Canyon and trees of the park.

The musical (part of a series of three this summer) invited patrons to come with their lawn chairs and their picinic baskets and enjoy the whole experience. Other than a slight gust of wind from a passing thunderstorm, the evening was flawless and very enjoyable. 

This is the product of a community that values the arts.  The cast (median age 20) were young and energetic.  The dances sequences were fantastic.  The only downer was the sound-maybe it could have been a little louder.  Produced with a live orchestra--it was enjoyable experience.

The musicals will continue in July and August as they present PIRATES OF PENZANCE and THE MUSIC MAN.

Praying For Lower Gas Prices

I don't know... couldn't hurt. What's your theology of gas prices?

Kung Fu Panda--Hollywood's Best Writing?

So I finally did it--I went to see KUNG FU PANDA yesterday.  My son had been telling me how awesome it was, but I was skeptical. 

Turns out that I was right.

Somehow I felt like I was watching a POKEMON movie the whole time.  I can see how a 10 year can classify this as one of the greatest movies.  Really I can--my son is into the whole POKEMON thing.  They have such odd looking creatures in these types of movies.

I guess my skeptic meter went way off the chart when this piece of wisdom was spouted from the old wise tortoise.

"Yesterday is history.  Tomorrow is a mystery.  Today is a gift that is why we call it the present."

What?  Was that the best that Hollywood could come up with for writing and creativity.  I think I got this in an email about 10 years ago; one of those emails that you must forward to 10 people in the next 10 minutes or something bad will happen to you.   I thought--ok, now I'm done--this movie has jumped the shark.

Can you imagine the creative writer meeting where this line was proposed?  It must have been late in the night with no other better ideas on the table, they decided to go with it.  I heard 3 people behind me moan when they said this.  That meant "this is dumb"

So, if you haven't seen it--don't.  Wait for the DVD, and when it comes home for your kids to watch--find something else to do.

CREATIVE CHAOS--The Walmart $1 Fabric

One of the best resources that we've found in our move to staging and set design in our church has been the Wal-Mart $1 fabric bin. Yep! You heard it right. I am a regular customer of the fabric area when we're doing a set design or a set change. I'm constantly on the look out for new colors and textures that work well on stage. I'm always looking for those stretch fabrics that work as shapes and objects on stage. Althougth they come in small quantities, you can usually find more than one of the same bolt, or complimentary colors that can fill out your needs.

The picture below is of our set last May where we bought out the bin on these two colors and h

ung the materials from ceiling to floor in our worship space. It actually worked better to stretch it from top to bottom than from side to side.

I've become such a regular customer of the fabric area, they are constantly asking "What are you making this time?" And since we've purchased so much in the past, we have a storage closet now where we can pull materials for displays and events without having to purchase over and over again.

This post is part of Creative Chaos over on Ragamuffisoul.

Watercooler Wednesday--Art and Faith

Just over a year ago, I was convicted that if I was to make a difference in the place where I live, I must engage with the artistic community around me.  I'm an artist--and I'm called to impact my world with the good news of Christ and for me, using the gifts and talents that God gave me seemed the best way to do that.  

I auditioned for a production at our local theater last fall and enjoyed my re-entry back to the theater after 25 years.  Just being back on stage somehow re-awakened my love for theater and the community that is created among the cast and crew during the pre-production and production phases.  Most of that time was just spent getting lines down and remembering stage principles and practices.

Now I am in a production that will go up in 2 weeks.  It's been a fast a furious pace getting lines and blocking down.  However, this one has been different.  I didn't know most of the cast before this production and that has caused me to consider that perhaps I'm here for another reason.

I couldn't have been more surprised the other night during one of the scenes (we were off-stage) when I encountered a spiritual conversation with another cast member.  To be honest, I wasn't quiet ready for it ( I should be--I should always be ready to give a reason for the hope I have in Christ).  It was a realization from a year ago--that I'm doing what I'm doing not only to express the gifts and talents that God has given me, but also to impact my world of art with faith.  It has renewed my thought that everytime I express this gift and create community around me, there will be opportunity (Holy spirit orchestrated) for me to give witness to this hope that I have.   I just have to be available and ready for the opportunity arises.  

Most people would say that the artist community is a hard one to express personal faith.   I might agree, but I think that this argument is an excuse not to engage artists because artist tend to be most difficult to pen down about "faith".   If the article in the New York Time last week is correct, we already have enough artists out there that can impact their world ( and I'd be surprised if there weren't more artistic missionaries out there) and who are ready to see God move and answer the questions of their artistic soul.

This post is part of Water Cooler Wednesday's over on Randy Elrod's blog, Ethos.